


Happy birthday, sweetheart!

by happilyappled



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Angst, Birthday, Birthday Presents, Fluff, M/M, Snow, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-20
Updated: 2013-12-20
Packaged: 2018-01-05 05:24:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1090114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happilyappled/pseuds/happilyappled
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank hasn't had a happy birthday in a long, long time...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy birthday, sweetheart!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [endlessnighttimesky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/endlessnighttimesky/gifts).



> Dedicated to Emma <3
> 
> [Click here](http://www.mediafire.com/download/2ul18du1ad0hbt8) to download this story in PDF format :)

_December 12, 2013_

When Frank wakes up, he’s still groggy. His eyes won’t open until he stretches his legs, scratches his balls and turns to lie on his left side. Only today he can’t quite get to that third step because Gerard is blocking his angle. He seems to be turned to Frank, as Frank can feel Gerard’s breath on his face and suddenly it hits him. The unusual feeling that today is going to be a good day.

Frank hasn’t had this feeling on his birthday for a while, after his mother’s death seven winters ago, but this year it’s quite different. He has Gerard and knows that his mother will rejoice for him. It’s been a constant struggle, dealing with the loss of the one person Frank trusted and loved the most his whole life, but lately it got more bearable. Gerard worked wonders in Frank, that’s for sure.

That is mainly why he feels so good this morning. Gerard is right there, curling up against Frank’s side, kissing the corner of his mouth and humming something onto Frank’s skin. It’s the best feeling to wake up to every morning and Frank thinks he will never get tired of it. Gerard’s body is warm on this winter day, despite the severe cold wave that hit the city in the past week and despite the snow they watched falling from the living room window last night. It was a beautiful moment, curling up together on the couch, turned to the window, the fireplace burning next to them, watching the snow falling outside with its cold sweetness. It was amazing, but not as striking as the morning after.

“Good morning,” Frank mumbles, still groggy, but already opening his eyes. He feels Gerard wrapping an arm around him, still warm and very gentle, letting Frank turn on his side so they’re face to face. It feels marvelous. The curves and angles of Gerard’s body fit so perfectly against Frank’s; it’s like they were meant to be.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” Gerard says, loud and clear, the waves of his voice hitting the side of Frank’s face ever so kindly. He places another kiss on the corner of Frank’s mouth, then leaves a ring of wet kisses up his cheek and over his ear.

Frank giggles. “Stop that, it tickles.”

Gerard does that again, his lips and his hair falling over Frank’s face, tickling him in a way that Frank could never hate. He always despised tickles, but his opinion changed when Gerard learned how to tickle him in this loving way. Frank can never get enough of it, and most of the time he only tells Gerard to stop because he knows that Gerard will _not_ stop.

He giggles again, but thanks Gerard for the birthday wishes. These words haven’t sounded so sweet and welcome in seven years, but Frank can’t ever deny Gerard the pleasure of enjoying everything he says to Frank. “Thank you for being here with me today.”

“About that,” Gerard says, leaning back a bit. Frank blinks up at him and looks at Gerard properly. He hadn’t noticed that Gerard was not wearing the wolf print pajama pants and white t-shirt he lay down in last night. He’s wearing jeans and a plaid button down shirt.

“Why are you all dressed up? You said you had–”

“I know what I said,” Gerard replies. They talked about this yesterday morning while they finally put together the Christmas tree. Gerard doesn’t have to go to work until ten o’clock today, but Frank looks at the clock and reads seven a.m.. That can’t be right, but the way Gerard is smiling at Frank gives him away. He’s actually leaving right now. “I’ll be right back.”

Frank whines and moves as fast as he can for a lazy morning, moving a hand to the back of Gerard’s head to try and convince him to stay in bed some more, kissing the corner of his mouth, whispering that Gerard had promised to spend the morning with him.

Gerard snickers and kisses Frank back, full on the mouth this time. He feels fresh and washed up, and Frank can’t believe that he let Gerard lie to him about their lazy morning for Frank’s birthday. Gerard unwraps Frank’s hand from the back of his neck and repeats himself, “I’ll be right back.”

*

When Frank comes out of the shower, he can hear the front door creaking. Gerard must be back from wherever he went without sharing any details with Frank. There’s a smile on Frank’s face because of course this is related to his birthday, and that is the only reason why he didn’t insist with Gerard to tell him everything. He wants Gerard to surprise him. It’s been a while since this day was so enjoyable.

He gets dressed as casually as possible, in old jeans and a Night Vale hoodie that was officially Gerard’s but Frank made him think he had lost. He’s planning to spend the whole day at home, waiting for Gerard to come back from work to engage in whatever plans he has for tonight.

“Don’t make plans with anybody for your birthday,” Gerard had said, weeks ago, and Frank couldn’t find the heart to dismiss the thought of spending it with him. There’s no one else in the world that makes Frank as happy as Gerard does. It’s pretty incredible, but the best kind of feeling in the world.

Frank goes downstairs slowly, pretending not to be in a hurry to see what Gerard is doing there. The whole house has been quiet except for the ruffle of clothes while Frank was in the bedroom getting ready, so whatever it is that Gerard is doing, it must be pretty exciting.

“Hello Chef, how can I help?” Frank asks as soon as he joins Gerard in the kitchen. He’s always the cook in the house, always the one to warn Frank about domestic chores and all that. Frank isn’t really interested in it, but Gerard is kind of a neat freak. He is the cutest neat freak Frank has ever met, though.

“You’re not supposed to help today, birthday boy,” Gerard says brightly, turning his head so Frank can see his beautiful smile.

“Where did you go so early?” Frank asks, approaching Gerard from behind to look over his shoulder and take a peek of what he’s making on the counter. That looks a lot like a bowl of dough.

“I had to go shopping,” Gerard replies, stealing a kiss from Frank’s mouth before he focuses back on batting the dough.

“In this cold?”

“Well, yeah. I wanted to make breakfast in bed, but came downstairs and noticed we had run out of flour and eggs. I know I promised you a long, lazy morning in bed, but there were far more important things to take care of,” Gerard says, sounding very proud of whatever he’s planning.

“Things like what, exactly?” Frank asks, cocking his left hip against the counter so he can stare at Gerard’s profile while he keeps batting the dough. He looks amazing in the kitchen, wearing his orange apron that his mother had made for him when he got into cooking school. It has his name embroidered on the front, at the level of his chest. It’s totally cute. It fits Gerard.

“Making you waffles.” Gerard grins and stops working on the dough, turning to check the waffle iron. Frank didn’t see it on the counter when he came in. He didn’t even know Gerard had one.

“Are you serious?” Frank asks incredulously. His mom used to make him waffles for his birthday. He hasn’t had those in years, because he had never had the courage to actually make them himself. It wouldn’t be the same thing, would never have the same meaning, but Gerard diving into this kind of detail gives it a completely different feeling. “You remembered. The only time I told you about that was last year.”

“Of course I remembered. I’ve been planning this for a really long time, Frank,” Gerard confesses, smiling sweetly. He opens the waffle iron and oils it with a brush, before he spoons in the batter and closes the lid, adding, “When you opened up to me about your mother last year, I knew I wanted to do this for you today. I couldn’t let you see this tradition die. I know it won’t be the same, I’m not your mother, but I thought you could still–”

Gerard puts down the bowl in silence and looks up, turning to Frank with a serious expression on his face. His eyebrows are arched downward and his lips are sealed tight, but then he asks in a worried tone, “Was it a bad idea?”

Frank shakes his head, obviously. Gerard surprising him like this for his birthday would never be a bad idea. It brings back a lot of memories, but he has someone to share them with right now, and that is never a bad thing. Nothing about Gerard seems to be bad, at all.

He kisses Gerard, too. It’s short and sweet, but it’s the only way Frank has to show Gerard how truly thankful and surprised he is. 

“I never thought you would pull off something like this. I knew you were up to something because you were so secretive, and getting up before me and all that, but I had no idea how–” Frank stops, sighing.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything. I understand,” Gerard replies softly, taking Frank’s hand and squeezing it lightly. “Let me finish those waffles now. You can go and make us some coffee, right?”

Frank tilts his head at him fondly, but sighs and grins. “Yes, Chef.”

After breakfast, Frank sits at the kitchen island watching Gerard as he cleans up. It’s absolutely enthralling to watch Gerard in the kitchen; it’s his natural habitat. He’s a professional cook and, although he isn’t head chef yet, he’s one of the most acclaimed masterminds working at the restaurant. Frank has been in love with Gerard’s food ever since the beginning.

“What?” Gerard interrupts Frank’s thoughtful staring. He looks up and finds Gerard wiping his hands on their Christmas decorated dishtowel. His hands have a very uncommon way of doing it, Frank has always noticed so. Gerard’s hands have a very uncommon, very fascinating way of doing anything. They pull Frank in like nothing else. It’s incredible.

“Nothing,” Frank replies, smiling softly. He shakes his head to stop paying attention to Gerard’s hands so they can make the most of the next couple of hours until Gerard really has to go to work. “Thank you for this wonderful breakfast, actually. I used to look forward to this day the whole year, so this means a lot to me. You’re wonderful, Gerard. Thank you so much.”

Gerard smiles in that captivating way that tilts his mouth to the right. All these random little quirks helped Frank fall in love in the first place, not to belittle the honest conversations they’ve had since the first day. Or the way Gerard always understands what Frank means. “It’s my pleasure. I know how hard your mom’s passing hit you, and I care for you. That’s all. I don’t expect anything in return.”

Frank can’t think of any response. He can only think of getting up and placing a kiss on the right corner of Gerard’s lips, feeling it tilting up yet again under his own mouth. It’s beautiful. Then, he asks, “What’s next?”

“I didn’t plan anything,” Gerard says, with a casual shrug. “You decide.”

Frank shows Gerard a wicked smile and throws his arms around Gerard’s neck, tightening the grip until their faces are really close. He hovers over Gerard’s lips and whispers, “I am so glad you said that.”

Gerard laughs, then asks, “Why are you wearing my hoodie, though?”

“It’s my hoodie now,” Frank points out cockily. However, he can’t help but lose his devilish grin when Gerard kisses his mouth fervently.

*

“I hate leaving for work when you’re home,” Gerard says in a quite desolated tone, buttoning down his shirt. “Especially when you’re naked.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll wait for you right here,” Frank half jokes, patting the mattress next to him. He stretches his legs to try and slide his feet under the warm duvet, but he misses because he’s too busy staring at Gerard, who simply chuckles.

“Do I get to punish you if you move?” Gerard asks, but Frank can’t be sure if he’s trying to be funny or not. Gerard does wiggle his eyebrows, so it could be a joke, but the way he’s strolling closer to the bed tells Frank otherwise. He would be able to read the anticipation in Gerard’s eyes anywhere, anytime.

Frank giggles, half nervously, half anxious to test Gerard’s reaction. He is totally swimming in unknown waters, but it shouldn’t hurt to try. He trusts Gerard to understand him. “Would you like that?”

“I dunno, would you?”

Frank shrugs, getting on his knees and approaching the foot of the bed. “I have no idea, never tried it.”

“Me neither. Maybe we could try it together, it’d be better than never knowing what it’s like, right? You always say that.” Gerard is within reach by now, and Frank stretches his torso and kisses the corner of Gerard’s mouth. He loves that they do this instead of the standard peck on the mouth. It feels special, feels like this is the way only _they_ are.

“Exactly,” Frank replies, trying to get his mind back on track. He can really look into Gerard’s eyes now, and they’re shining through this conversation. They have never mentioned something as radical as spicing up their sex life with spanking or anything else of that kind, but Frank doesn’t regret it. Not with the lustful way Gerard is looking at him. “Should I do some research on this, maybe buy us some stuff? Would you like that?”

“I really can’t tell until we try it out,” Gerard says with another shrug and a few pecks on Frank’s lips now. His kisses are addicting, and Frank finds himself giving in to them once again. These moments always remind him of their very first kiss, so unexpected, after Frank had been talking about some heavy shit from his past; the way he felt back then was unexplainable. It wasn’t so much like Gerard was taking advantage of him, but rather showing Frank that he could still love and be loved despite the biggest loss he has ever experienced.

Right now, he thinks about it deep in his mind, but it’s soon clogged by the feeling of Gerard’s hands on his face, pulling them away from each other. “I have to go now, okay?”

Frank nods, but steals one last kiss from Gerard. He doesn’t let go even when Gerard straightens back up; Frank just follows, arms tight around Gerard’s neck, legs stretching until his muscles start to hurt. Gerard chuckles against Frank’s mouth, but by then Frank has managed to get on his feet on the bed and is now standing taller than Gerard.

Gerard manages to pull back from Frank’s face and looks up at Frank, teasing, “Here’s something I don’t get to see every day.”

“Ha. Ha,” Frank mocks laughter, knowing very well what Gerard is trying to joke about. He doesn’t get as affected by height jokes as he used to when he was in high school. Plus, Gerard looks pretty cute when he thinks his jokes are funny. “See if I walk you to the door now.”

“I didn’t ask you to,” Gerard says, amusingly. “Plus, you’re naked.”

“You think that’s going to stop me?”

And in fact, Frank does walk Gerard to the door in the nude, no shoes or slippers, not really bothering to get something to cover himself. Gerard is half laughing at him, half checking the windows. Frank is teasing him with small kisses in between chuckles, saying he’ll go by the sex shop to check out some items for them.

“We could have a theme party tonight,” he adds, wiggling his eyebrows. “I could go by the store around four, so that you’re on your break. I could send you pictures over the phone and we could discuss what’s best for us to buy.”

Gerard is laughing openmouthed by the time Frank unlocks the front door. He agrees to everything Frank just said, though, which tickles Frank in return. Frank places a last kiss on the corner of Gerard’s mouth, lingering there for a second, before he says, “Thanks again for the surprise breakfast. I loved it.”

“Have a nice day at work,” he adds when Gerard smiles and leaves a noisy smooch on his cheek. “Drive safely.”

“I’m not driving today,” Gerard says, pushing Frank so he’s 100% behind the door when a car outside honks. “Joan is picking me up.”

“Why?” Frank questions him, frowning. Gerard always takes his car to work.

“So you have a reason to pick me up from work tonight, and so I can lure you into the restaurant and give you a proper birthday dinner that I have cooked with way more pans than we have at home,” Gerard replies. His grin is pretty wide by now. It makes Frank laugh, for all these tiny details Gerard thought of for his birthday, and he nods. He couldn’t say no to such a kind offer.

Frank is still smiling when Gerard pulls the door closed, and he stands there grinning to himself for a good two minutes. In the end, he rolls his eyes at himself. “So fucking hopeless, I swear.”

*

The book shaped headstone is starting to lose color or maybe it has faded under the heavy blanket of snow Frank just wiped off of it. He wants to read his mother’s name entirely, even though he only had her first and maiden name engraved, the way she always wanted. It might have been seven years ago, but standing right here doesn’t make this any less painful.

Frank can always only think about the day he saw his mother pass away in bed, after a mere couple of months of being ill. It was really fast, but awfully agonizing, watching her shake with the ultimate seizure that ended up taking her life. Having to watch her fade away under the best hospice care and tons of medicine. Having to watch her fall sick quite suddenly, in one warm, upsetting summer evening.

Today, however, he has no tears to shed; he’s not thinking about his mother and missing her so terribly, unlike every other year since her death. Today, Frank is thinking back to the moment he realized that this year was going to be different. He won’t spend the whole day with grief and his scary bouts of loneliness.

“I wish you could meet him, Mom,” he says, wiping more snow from the top of the headstone. “You would have loved Gerard. He’s so kind, and makes me laugh. I can’t explain how I feel about him. It’s magical. I still wish you were here, but he makes the pain more bearable. Thank you for bringing him my way.”

There’s a cold breeze whisking Frank’s hair, prickling on the back of his neck. Frank wraps his scarf a little tighter and adds with a smile, “Yeah, don’t think I don’t know you had something to do with it, Mom. I know you like the palm of my hand.”

Frank replaces the dying white roses with new ones in the small vase in front of the headstone. It’s always the last thing he does, after a small conversation with his mother. He kisses the tips of two fingers and places the kiss on the headstone, stroking them over the name and the single sentence written on the grey marble, which reads, _I love you, Mom_.

“I’ll always love you, Mom,” he says, closing his eyes to avoid the threat of tears he can feel forming. He doesn’t want to cry this year; he has a few reasons to hold himself together now. When he gets up and turns around to leave, it’s with the wind whisking his hair yet again.

*

It’s fifteen past eight and Frank has just parked the car at the back parking lot of _The Catwalk Bistro_ , the restaurant Gerard has been working at for four years. It’s a high fashion yet welcoming kind of place where you can choose from a diverse menu, from gourmet meals to family dishes a grandmother would cook for dinner every Sunday. Frank loves it here.

It’s been almost two years since Frank walked into this place for the first time. He had just been fired that afternoon and by nighttime, he was tired of walking around town, mulling over his terrible luck. He walked in and stayed at the bar, sitting on a stool with his head low, ordering a beer every now and then so they wouldn’t force him to get out and go look for somewhere else to brood. Before Frank knew it, there was someone tapping his shoulder and telling him they were about to close.

Gerard was working the latest shift in the kitchen that day and he was the one telling Frank that he would have to leave. Frank looked up at him and can’t be sure if Gerard could read something on his face or if it was pure sympathy, but for some reason Gerard offered Frank a drink and his attention.

By the time the sun was rising the next day, Frank had opened up to Gerard about his job, his fucked up life, about losing his mother and everything that had been bothering him for a really long time. He just let it go. That was the most revealing and releasing moment in his whole life, but he doesn’t regret it. Gerard gave Frank his phone number and told Frank to call anytime he needed to talk, and he told Frank to come by the restaurant whenever he felt lonely or if he needed someone to listen to him.

Gerard kept his promise and Frank can’t deny that he found a true friend in Gerard, his best friend in a long time. There isn’t much Frank can do to repay him except being there for Gerard in the same terms, a best friend, a good listener and an everlasting support.

Sighing and shaking his head to himself, Frank gets out of the car at last, burying his first couple of steps in the snow that still covers the sidewalk. He sees Gerard coming out of the restaurant, grinning and sliding an arm over Frank’s shoulder. He’s still wearing his working apron and wipes his hands on it as he asks Frank, “Are you ready for the night of your life?”

“You say that every night.” Frank smacks his arm and snickers, expecting nothing but another dinner at the restaurant, with professional waiters serving them food while they relax with a glass of red wine or something equally refined they don’t share every day.

There is, however, something different about the restaurant tonight. It’s quieter. There are a lot of clients sitting at the tables in the main dining room, decorated in blue, black and white, but the people aren’t being as loud as you’d expect for a bistro. At least, not from what Frank has witnessed in here some days in the past, but it feels nice.

“Well, what’s for dinner, big Chef?” Frank asks, grinning excitedly.

“You’ll see when it’s time. How was your day?” Gerard asks, taking off his apron and handing it to Joan, who’s standing by the door to the kitchen. Frank greets her with a silent nod.

Frank tells Gerard about his visit to the cemetery, but mostly about his visit to the sex shop. He makes Gerard laugh and it’s the most beautiful thing in the world, that half a cackle, half a snort that makes the outside corners of his eyes wrinkle in the cutest way. Frank asks Gerard if he saw the pictures Frank sent while at the shop, having chosen only the most embarrassing items to take pictures of, mostly to test Gerard’s reaction. Gerard didn’t reply to the text messages and he doesn’t seem to be paying much attention right now either as he leads Frank to the non-smoking dining room of the restaurant.

He keeps talking, though. “I’ve been on the internet, reading some stuff that we could try out tonight, or whenever we’re gonna do this. It could be fun. We’ll need a safe word, though.”

“A safe word for what?” Gerard asks, distracted, shifting his look towards Frank for one tiny second before he focuses back on their way to the dining room.

“You know what, Gee,” Frank says suggestively, turning to Gerard with wiggling eyebrows. It makes Gerard laugh again, but he shakes his head as well and places a hand on Frank’s back, pushing him forward.

Frank grins at Gerard over his shoulder, when he sees Gerard’s hand extended like a gentleman showing him the way, but then Frank turns back forward and his smile fades away in one single exhale.

There’s a big group of people in the room, clearly waiting for something, standing under a huge banner on the wall that reads **HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANKIE** in bold capitals. Frank sees Gerard’s parents, Gerard’s brother, a few of the friends they have been hanging out with lately, and then some older friends that Frank hasn’t seen in _years_.

Frank covers his gaping mouth with one hand at this sight, and even more when he sees James’s witty eyes smiling at him like there haven’t been almost five years since they last spoke. Seeing all these people is very heartwarming. Frank turns back around to Gerard, his hand still over his mouth, looking up with wide eyes at Gerard’s sweet smile. He was expecting a surprise, but not _this_.

“All these people, Gerard. This is–” Frank feels himself getting emotional and giggles to cover it up, burying his face in the crook of Gerard’s neck and wrapping his arms around Gerard in a tight hug. Gerard wishes him a happy birthday again, whispering the words straight into Frank’s ear, and tells him to go and enjoy his birthday dinner party.

“You deserve it, Frank.”

*

“This dinner was on standby until this morning, actually,” Gerard tells Frank when they’re already on their way home. Gerard is driving because Frank is so overwhelmed about this surprise dinner that his hands are still shaking. He looks at Gerard now, asking him what he means. “Well, if you hadn’t taken my surprise breakfast so well, it would have been just you and me.”

“It would have been just as amazing,” Frank replies tenderly, moving his hand to the back of Gerard’s neck to play with the little hairs there. He has to admit, though. “I’m not gonna lie, this was unbelievable. I have no idea how you got all those people here for my birthday. I mean, like, sure, your family and our friends, we’ve been hanging out with them lately, but Joyce? And Ed, and _James_?”

Gerard smiles at him quite fondly. “You have no idea how much those guys love you, Frank. It doesn’t matter to them that it’s been so long since you last talked; that kind of shit happens to everyone. They were so supportive when I talked to them. I found their contacts on your phone, sorry I had to sneak through your phone to get to them by the way, but I explained them the situation and they said yes almost immediately.”

“Even James?” Frank inquires, quite incredulously. It has been a long time since he talked to James. After his mother’s death, Frank went through a lot of trouble and couldn’t find the balls to call people and try to be a decent friend to them, and then things fell apart naturally. James also moved back to his home state years ago and it was harder to keep in touch, so it’s actually pretty incredible that he was able to be here tonight.

“Especially James,” says Gerard, nodding quite proudly. “I know how you feel about him and the others, having drifted away from everyone at some point, but they were very understanding and one hundred percent willing to come.”

“I told you I’ve been planning this for a long time…” Gerard wraps up his line with an honestly sweet smile, reaching out for Frank’s hand and squeezing it. “I’m very proud of you for making it through very harsh times without your mom. I didn’t get to witness it all, but I will be here for you from now on.”

“You promise?” Frank asks, feeling more hopeful about the future than any other time in the past year. Gerard doesn’t even have to reply. His toothy grin reveals everything Frank needs to know, so he squeezes Gerard’s hand in appreciation and in true happiness.


End file.
